Jazz on 3 New York Special 2006
I know I know. Spending a week listening to jazz in New York isn’t what most people reading this would consider ‘work’. But my purpose for posting isn’t merely to boast but to add some personal insights that might not have made it into the 400th edition of Jazz on 3 which transmits on Friday 22nd December 2006.
The stated aim of the programme was to take a health check on the city’s current jazz scene and to ask whether it’s still the jazz capital of the world. Well to break the suspense – and just in case there was any serious doubt - the answer to the second part of the question is, in my opinion, a definite yes: with 150 venues and probably the largest concentration of first rate players living in one vicinity it would be hard for any other locality to test.
However (don’t worry there’s more to the programme than that), it’s fair to say not all is entirely well in NYC jazz. Unprecedented rents are making it harder and harder for musicians and venues to get by in Manhattan and if you’re not one of the dozen or so artists guaranteed to sell out esteemed venues such as the Village Vanguard or the Blue Note, getting paid work is more difficult than ever. Furthermore the ailing cd retail industry has recently claimed one of the city’s best loved jazz outlets – Tower Records. For in depth interviews on these topics, plus exclusive recordings of Reggie Workman, Joe Lovano, Bob Belden’s Animation and Assif Tsahar’s Digital Primitives I’d suggest listening to the programme tonight, available on Listen Again until December 27th.
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Get set for thejazz
- Andy Roberts
- 5 Dec 06, 03:57 PM
GCap, the commercial radio group which owns Classic FM, has unveiled the name of the UK-wide jazz station to be launched on digital radio and TV at 9am on Christmas Day.
thejazz will broadcast on DAB, Sky Digital and NTL:telewest digital cable - it'll also be available online at .
Mindful of the heated debate as to what jazz actually is, station bosses have launched a myspace website at www.myspace.com/talkaboutjazz ahead of the launch aiming to foster a debate on the issue which will ultimately feed into programming.
The company boldly promises a station "laying nothing but credible, authentic jazz in its many forms - whether that be bebop, swing, cool jazz, trad, blues, soul-jazz, modern jazz or smooth/fusion..." words which may sound familiar to those present at the launch of the now-defunct Jazz FM back in 1990.
However, any cynicism about the station's long term commitment may be tempered by some (if not all) of the names who've signed up to be the station's myspace "friends" - including Herbie Hancock, Julian Joseph,
Ron Carter, Madeleine Peyroux, The Vortex, Jazz Times and Jazzwise magazines and, er, Beyonce...
Pop songs in jazz
- Patrick Johns
- 5 Dec 06, 03:57 PM
I'm just listening to the Gordon Beck Quartet's album Experiments with Pops which features pop songs such as Norwegian Wood, Up Up and Away, Good Vibrations and Michelle.
It got me thinking - why is it that a huge bulk of the repertoire of standards is formed from pop songs from the first half of the 20th century, but very little from after? Notable exceptions are the songs of Lennon and McCartney and some by Burt Bacharach.
Why is this? Is it an indication that songs today are simply not as good musically as those of yesteryear? Modern classics such as Wonderwall by Oasis are great pop/rock songs but just don't translate to jazz. Does that mean they're bad songs? No... but someone once said that the sign of a truly great piece of music is if it can work in many differenct settings. The jury's out... for now, I'll just enjoy Gordon et al giving it beans on These Boots Are Made For Walking.
